India should initiate talks on Kashmir, says Pakistan

Ahead of the meeting with his Indian counterpart, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Saturday said New Delhi should engage itself in talks to resolve the Kashmir issue.

"We hope New Delhi will realise the ground reality and world trends which essentially include negotiations and talks on resolving outstanding issues," he said. Qureshi was addressing a press conference after his meeting with All Parties Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

The Pakistan foreign minister said he had also invited Farooq for talks to find a solution to the long pending issue. The meeting of the two foreign ministers will take place in New York on Sunday and is expected to be focused on the issue of terrorism emanating from Pakistani soil.

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna had said terrorism would be the single most important issue for discussion in the meeting. Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari had told the United Nation General Assembly that Islamabad wanted friendly relations with New Delhi and stressed the need for resuming the composite dialogue process.

Zardari said 'meaningful progress' towards resolution of the Kashmir issue was necessary for peace and stability in South Asia.